CURATOR

A pinboard by

PhD candidate studying the interplay of modern technology and traditional field techniques.

PINBOARD SUMMARY

Photogrammetry is an ideal tool for studying the Earth, bringing outcrops from the field to the lab.

In ten seconds? Structure from Motion (SfM) Photogrammetry algorithms allow for the creation of 3D point clouds and surfaces just from overlapping photographs. This is ideal for studying the shape and changes of the world around us.

Integrated with UAV technology - With the advent of consumer UAVs researchers have been able to take their photographs from the air and from vantages previously unavailable or too difficult to obtain. The addition of UAV technology to the SfM workflow also broadens the spatial expanse which can be modeled. A study showed that ground based SfM was much less cost effective in large study areas compared to UAV based SfM and airborne LiDAR.

Use with multi-spectral images - Traditionally SfM is used with visible imagery, however, a study monitoring volcanic activity used SfM to build 3D models of thermal images. The use of multi-spectral imagery in SfM photogrammetry may reveal details of a study area not able to be seen with visible light photography.

Changes in our landscape - While much of geology deals with non-human time scales our understanding of the past comes from understanding how the Earth changes and reacts today. Measuring changes in topography due to erosion or changes in glacial extent are key to understanding our Earth system. Researchers have been able to use archived images to recreate glacial surfaces of the past and compare them to today enhancing our understanding of glacial evolution.